Saturday, August 24, 2013

Tim Burton celebrates his 55th Birthday today and we all wish a happy birthday to Tim! And to do so i welcome Blake Meredith, new D&M contributor and film blogger for Direct-ticket.net where she covers everything from new releases, to classics, directors and writers. Blake lives and writes from Chicago, is a huge Tim Burton fan and counts The Nightmare Before Christmas and James and the Giant Peach among her favorites. Today, she suggest to celebrate Tim Burton 55th Birthday with a choice of favorite Tim Burton movies.

Celebrate Tim Burton’s 55th Birthday with 5 Favorite Burton Films

There are countless
lists and debates over which of Tim Burton’s works are truly his greatest. Batman,
which was a huge commercial success and the reason for much of Burton’s
creative influence, doesn’t even come close to the top ten in regards to
overall viewer ratings. According to Rotten Tomatoes, along with Batman (which
Burton himself wasn’t really a fan of) the films Beetlejuice and Charlie
and the Chocolate Factory also don’t breach the top five. Here instead is a
look at the top reviewed, most popular Tim Burton films in honor of his
upcoming 55th birthday.

5. Edward
Scissorhands (1990)

Scissorhands
was created shortly after Batman’s success and allowed Burton to begin
creating projects of his own choice. The film is one of three Burton projects
that Winona Ryder stars in, and the first of the Johnny Depp/Tim Burton
relationship that has resulted in eight films (so far). Burton had long been
waiting to create the film, which had been inspired by the classic Cabinet
of Dr. Caligari, and considered actors such as Tom Cruise and Jim
Carrey before settling on Depp. In the film, Edward is given his scissorhands
by a quirky inventor. The inventor dies, leaving Edward entirely isolated until
he is taken in by a bustling Avon saleswoman, Peg Boggs (Dianne Weist). During
the film, Depp only says a total of 169 words. Perhaps because of this, Burton
realized the astounding ability Depp had to act through facial expression
alone, a talent that has made Depp famous in other roles. Burton’s visual
presence, though not as dark as future films, was still at its finest — the
director insured that every house in the Boggs’ neighborhood was painted either
sea-foam green, dingy nude, butter or dirty blue.

4. Pee-wee’s Big
Adventure (1985)

Perhaps
one of Burton’s least grim creative works, Pee-wee tells the story of
Pee Wee (Paul Reubens), an oversized man-child, who is devastated after his red
bicycle is stolen. The film follows Pee Wee on his strange adventure to recover
the bike, during which he meets various strange characters, although perhaps
not as strange as himself. The script was based on Reubens’ own stand-up
routine.The film is an off the wall, James Bond parody-style, action film
starring a nerdy, innocent, man-child. This was Tim Burton’s first full-length
film, and effectively launched both his and Danny Elfman’s careers. Afterwards,
Elfman composed most of Burton’s film soundtracks.

3. Ed Wood (1994)

Unsurprisingly,
Johnny Depp again stars in a Burton film as Ed Wood in this
fictionalized biography. The film follows legendary low-budget science fiction
director Ed Wood as he attempts to break into the directing business. Instead,
he directs a series of failures and associates himself with an odd crew of Hollywood
outcasts. Burton once again balances his comedic and tragic sides — at times
the film will have you bursting in laughter, but Burton also highlights the
heartbreaking effects of failure and displays his own passion for the world of
movies. Roger Ebert said of the film, “What Burton has made is a film which
celebrates Wood more than it mocks him, and which celebrates, too the zany
spirit of the 1950s exploitation films.” It was Burton’s choice to shoot the
film in black-and-white in order to retain a semblance of Ed Wood’s own work.
Burton also refused a salary for the film, choosing instead to focus on having
total creative autonomy.

Above: Tim Burton and actor and longtime friend Johnny Depp

2. James and the
Giant Peach (1996)

Tim
Burton and Henry Selick’s version of the famous Roald Dahl novel (who also
wrote Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) comes close to the top of this
list. James was created using a combination of live action and
stop-motion animation. The tale, of James Henry Trotter, who finds himself
befriending life size bugs and escaping from his horrible aunts, begins with
live action until about twenty minutes in, when James enters the oversized
peach. Then, using stop-motion animation, the magical world of talking bugs
comes alive. Burton fans may not know that the stop motion figurine of Jack
Skellington from The Nightmare Before Christmas was reused in the film,
appearing as a dead pirate captain. The film was nominated for an Academy Award
for Best Music, and won Best Animated Feature Film at the Annecy International
Animated FIlm Festival. In a review for the New York Times, Janet Maslin
called the film, “A technological marvel, arch and innovative with a daringly
offbeat visual conception,” a description which could be aptly applied to
any of Tim Burton’s work.

1. The Nightmare
Before Christmas (1993)

It’s
no surprise this film still tops the list, having been a family favorite for
thirty years. Although not the official title, this film was such an obvious
display of Tim Burton’s creative work and visual skills that it is often
referred to as Tim Burton’s The Nightmare Before Christmas. The idea for
the film originated in a poem written by Burton in 1982, while he was working
as a Disney animator. Burton created a visual delight with his, now famous,
sweet and creepy Halloween Town, occupied by monsters, vampires and various
other creatures, all led by Jack Skellington, The Pumpkin King. Jack discovers
a portal into Christmas Town, and loves the holiday so much that he decides to
bring the celebration to his own town. Burton admitted that the film was
created by drawing inspiration from his own childhood obsession with holidays.
To create the film, 227 puppets were used, with Jack Skellington rumored to
have around “four hundred heads” for every possible emotion.

And you, what are your favorite Tim Burton movies? Let us know in the comments!Pictures: copyright Disney, Touchstone, 20th Century Fox

I like your list, but I don't think you can really consider James and the Giant Peach a Burton film. While he produced the film, Henry Selick was really the director and main force there. The two worked together more closely on Nightmare Before Christmas, where Selick directed but Burton did have a strong hand in story and character design. From everything I've read about James, it was more Selick, a terrific director in his own right, judging from Nightmare, James, and Coraline. I'd use your list, and then put another Burton film in James' place. Perhaps Batman Returns, which despite its flaws, is a very interesting film. Or, Beetlejuice, which I like a lot too. Craig Svonkin

Why is The Nightmare before Christmas on number 1, since it was NOT directed by Tim Burton (he only delivered the idea and supervised some scenes). Putting his name in front of the title is just another typical Disney-marketing way of exploiting the succes of the films he actually directed.

Previous Article

It's the first Christmas season for Shanghaî Disneyland and thanks to D&M faithful reader Nick Moody, Disney and more has exclusive...

Disneyland Paris Book Eng or Fr Edition!

The Christmas Special Offer for the acclaimed Disneyland Paris, From Sketch to Reality 320 pages book is launched, for the English or French edition, and copies are still available so don't miss it while it last as it is now the last copies! And there is a great surprise gift coming with each order! The book is the perfect Christmas gift for Disney parks fan! Click on the book cover to have a look inside the book and to order your copy or use the Paypal button below! Make sure to send me an email then at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com to tell me if you order an English or French edition.

Paypal Button for DLP book

Disneyland Paris From Sketch to Reality Book

Buy the DLP Book in One Click!

Order an updated English edition or a limited French collector edition of the Disneyland Paris book with the one-click Paypal button above for a fast and secure payment! No Paypal account? No problem you can pay with your credit card, send me an email at: neverlandeditions@gmail.com

Note that if you choose to order 2 or 3 copies the quantity might no appear on the Paypal page, but don't worry i will know the quantities of your order.

INFOS EDITION FRANCAISE

NEW! Theme Park Design Book!

David Younger's Theme Park Design & The Art of Themed Entertainment Is the Awesome Book About "Imagineering" that theme parks fans have always dreamed about! Don't miss this fantastic 570 pages book that you can order in one click with the Paypal button below! The Paypal button menu also include an option to buy both the Theme Park Design book AND the Disneyland Paris book if you wish! To learn more about the book, click on the above cover picture.

Paypal Button Theme Park Design

Theme Park Design Book

SEARCH ARTICLES in the D&M Archives !

Enter your search terms

Web

disneyandmore.blogspot.com

Submit search form

The Disney and more archives are a gold mine of rare artwork, pictures, and videos. Just enter your key word, choose a search on Disney and more, click, and you're on the road to heaven!

Discover Disney News Central !

Discover Disney News Central, a new website designed to make your Disney fan life easier! Find all the latest posts of your favorite websites in one click!

Support Disney and more!

May be it doesn't look like but posting daily articles on Disney and more is always a lot of work. If you're a D&M fan, why not doing a little Paypal donation?

CONTACT ME

For an important message, or infos about the DLP book, or if you have pictures who will be great for an article on Disney and more you can contact me at: lawrence55@wanadoo.fr

Thanks to "Like" and "Share" the new Disney and more Facebook page !

don't miss my star tours 2 website !

All about ST2 Grand Openings, High-Res pictures, videos of the ride, and more!

Discover the new D&M sections!

Don't miss the new Tom Scherman Site !

Discover A Real Adventureland !

Discover Bagan, The Ancient city with 2000 Temples and download my iPhone - iPad Application now available on the Appstore!